Two small airplanes collided at the McCall
Municipal Airport
in Idaho Friday
night, killing three people and injuring other three, officials said Saturday.
It appears that a Cessna 172 with two people on board struck
another craft of the same type, as it was landing at the airport. The second
plane had four people aboard, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Ian
Gregor, said.
According to a statement of police and fire officials,
52-year-old Bill Keating, the pilot of the aircraft that was struck, was
killed, as were two of his grandsons, ages 1 and 6. Three people were wounded,
including a two-year-old boy who was saved from the burning wreckage by the
other survivors. Both aircrafts exploded.
Justin Mooney, 30, the pilot of the landing aircraft, and
passenger Mark Fuller, 27, were treated and released from McCall Memorial
Hospital, a nursing supervisor
said, according to the AP.
The McCall Municipal Airport
in Idaho
remained closed Saturday while the cause of the accident was under
investigation. According to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor, the investigation could
take months to conclude.
“We will continue to interview witnesses and work with local
police, fire and emergency first responders,” National Transportation Safety
Board investigator Dennis Hogenson said, as quoted by the Idaho Press-Tribune.
“We know two planes collided, and we secured lots of evidence today in an
attempt to get an idea of exactly what happened out there,” he added.
McCall
Municipal Airport
has no air traffic control tower. “In a nutshell, it’s an uncontrolled
airport,” Hogenson declared. “That means it’s the responsibility of pilots to
communicate with one another and to avoid each other.”
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